Dragnsmke1

12:33 AM CST on Saturday, March 4, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / Staff Writer



This was supposed to be a rose between the thorns, a pitcher sandwiched between a pair of home run hitters.

But when you're fighting the sort of hangover the Mavericks had Friday, there are no easy outs. At least not until you shake off that blah feeling.

The Charlotte Bobcats hauled 16 wins into American Airlines Center – a little more than a month's worth by Mavericks standards – yet led by a point at halftime when the Mavs were playing like they didn't have clear heads.

A halftime spiel by coach Avery Johnson snapped them out of their funk, and the Mavericks pulled away with a well-played third quarter for a 90-76 win that followed Thursday's demoralizing loss at San Antonio and preceded Sunday's visit by the Phoenix Suns.

"We had a little talk at halftime," Johnson said. "And they seemed to respond.

"We don't handle losses well around here. We're pretty angry when we lose. That's a good thing. But you can't have any hangover effects where it affects your play."

That's precisely what the Mavericks had, however. They had a season-low 36 points in the first half. They were surviving only because Charlotte started the game two-of-21 on two-point field goal tries while making five of their eight tries from 3-point range.

The Mavericks made 13 of 18 shots in the third quarter, held Charlotte to five-of-17 shooting and outrebounded the Bobcats, 16-5, in the quarter.

Game over. The Mavericks' advantage never dipped below 10 points in the fourth period as Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and nine rebounds, and Erick Dampier pulled down 14 of the Mavs' season-high 57 rebounds.

The win was their 16th straight at AAC, extending the club record. They also improved to 4-0 all time against the Bobcats and are 14-0 at home this season against Eastern Conference teams. The Mavericks can complete an East sweep when Cleveland comes to town March 14.

When they were done with Charlotte, the Mavericks could look back over a tough 24 hours with some perspective.

"That game [Thursday] took a lot out of our team," Johnson said. "We tried to act like it didn't, but these guys really battled."

And they were still feeling the sting, even after beating the Bobcats.

"We got a lot to be upset about," Jerry Stackhouse said. "We weren't the team we were for the last 20-some games. We were stagnant, didn't move the ball, Dirk wasn't himself, letting Bruce Bowen get under his skin. He's better than that. We're better than that. So everybody is taking their fair share of responsibility for that game. We all did uncharacteristic things."

Stackhouse could have been talking about the first half Friday, too. But Nowitzki helped steady things, and Jason Terry had 10 of his 17 points in the telltale third quarter.

"It was a disappointing loss [in San Antonio]," Nowitzki said. "We played a pretty decent game, but we made a lot of defensive mistakes.

"Maybe it's good for us to see we're not quite there yet. It'll keep us humble."

E-mail esefko@dallasnews.com

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